Fig. 1.

a SARS-CoV-2 directly suppressed NK cell function through binding of ACE2 receptors on the cell surface. This reduces NK cell ability to kill both viral-infected cells and activated immune cells, increasing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and contributing to the development of hyper-inflammation. b Similarly, in rheumatic diseases, dysfunctional NK cells are not effective at clearing the immune cells which are activated by the binding of an unknown antigen (via an antigen presenting cell) to a naive T cell. Downstream, this leads to production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which ultimately lead to organ damage